LESSON 66. Principle: Leadership is shown in serving. Bible Character(s): Jesus and the disciples Scripture Reference: John 13: 1-17

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1 LESSON 66 1 st and 2 nd Grade Principle: Leadership is shown in serving. Bible Character(s): Jesus and the disciples Scripture Reference: John 13: 1-17 PERSONAL PREPARATION: Before this weekend, read through John 13:1-17. As you read through the text, focus on the principle of servant leadership. Jesus knew His death was close at hand, but He continued to love His disciples through washing their feet. It is a great example of humility and servanthood. Washing peoples feet was usually the task of a slave, done upon arrival. Notice that Jesus got up during the meal to serve. He recognized this opportunity to serve and love His disciples. How many times do we hesitate to serve or say no to serving opportunities because it messes up our schedule, agenda or what we want to do? How many times do we choose to do something we want to do rather than looking for a way to serve someone else? How many times do we avoid serving because it is hard or it might be messy? Spend some time thinking of ways you can serve your campers and their parents. PLUG IN TIME minutes as the kids begin to arrive Arrive early to check the supplies in the bin and review the lesson. Write today s principle on the whiteboard. Remember to greet all campers upon arrival; meet their parents; welcome and introduce all visitors. Create a welcoming cabin for all campers! Servant Example Teachers, place a white towel over your arm as a waiter or server would do. Ask your campers who you remind them of. As they throw out answers, make sure you guide them if needed to help them to see you as a waiter, butler, server, etc. Next, ask them what this type of person does, or what type of role this person has. Allow them to give their answers and ideas, but make sure to help them understand that a waiter/server s role is to serve by putting others above themselves. BIG GROUP TIME minutes As you line up, remind campers we are going to have fun as an entire Camp Grace group! We are going to live out GRACE by Glorifying God through worship, Respecting All leaders, and Accepting Responsibility to listen with attentive ears, minds, and hearts - fully Celebrating Christ with passion! We should Encourage Others to do the same, by not distracting them from their worship of God. Revised: 12/16 1

2 The Bridge to Small Group Today we will look at ways we can serve others, examine the cultural context of foot washing, and challenge the campers to follow Jesus example of serving others through humility. Small Group Time minutes Getting Started If your cabin did well in Big Group, acknowledge it. If not, take a couple of minutes to talk about how they can do better next time. What did you learn in Big Group? Why did the staff member think he/she should not have to do the laundry? (Because he/she was Assistant Camp Director and was too important or good to do laundry.) What did the staff member learn about serving? (Jesus, the Son of God, humbled Himself so He could serve them by washing their feet; He did this as an example for how they should serve others.) Last week who did we learn about? (The Good Samaritan.) Why did Jesus use the parable of the Good Samaritan? (Jesus used this parable to show us how we are to love everyone, including people who are different from us.) We also read the verse John 15:13, There is no greater love than to lay down one s life for one s friends. There are people like police officers and fireman who might be called to give their lives for others, but most people are not in that situation. We are still called to love others by serving them. Today we are going to read in John 13 to see how Jesus loved and served His disciples. Before we begin reading, let s look at something that the Israelites would do before they ate. Cultural Catch-Up The purpose is to give context to the activity of washing feet. Flip-flop (1 per bin) Shoe (use your own or one of your camper s shoes) Picture of dusty feet (1 per bin) Hold up the flip-flop and the shoe. Then show the campers the picture of the dusty feet. Would your feet get dirtier walking on dusty roads if you wear flip-flops or regular shoes? (Allow responses.) In Jesus time, the Israelites walked a lot. They wore sandals when they walked. Their feet would get very dirty. When the Israelites came home, they would wash their feet, especially before a meal. Normally a servant would wash the feet of guests. It was very unusual for a teacher to wash the feet of his disciples. Can you imagine what it would be like to wash someone else s Revised: 12/16 2

3 dirty feet? Would you want to do that? Why or why not? (Allow responses.) Let s begin our reading the Bible in John 13 [NLT]. John 13:2-5 2 It was time for supper 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. It says in verse 3 that Jesus has authority over everything. Jesus does not have to do anything. He is God! But Jesus chose to wash his disciples dirty feet. Why do you think He would do this? Why would He choose to do something so disgusting? (Allow responses.) Jesus was serving His disciples. He was showing us how to be a good leader, and how to love others. Jesus chose to do a dirty job that other would not want to do to serve those around Him. In order to follow Jesus, we must also be willing to serve people around us. Let s continue reading the Bible to see how the disciples responded when Jesus washed their feet. John 13:6-8a 6 When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, Lord, are you going to wash my feet? 7 Jesus replied, You don t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will. 8 No, Peter protested, you will never ever wash my feet! Why do you think Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet? (Allow responses.) Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet because he knew that Jesus was his teacher; Jesus was in authority over Peter, and Jesus was the Lord God over everything. Peter did not think it was right for Jesus to lower Himself and do a dirty job that was usually done by servants. But Jesus chose to do that because He was giving the disciples an example of how to serve others. He was showing them how they can serve even when they are in authority over others. Serving as Jesus Did The purpose of this activity is to give practical ways of serving in humility. Scenarios and Examples of Serving Others Guide - scenarios side (2 per bin) Read through each scenario (you ll use the Examples of side of the guide in a later activity) and ask the campers how they could serve others in each situation. Allow them to come up with ideas of how they can serve, and give guidance only if needed. Revised: 12/16 3

4 There are many different ways to serve those around us. We should be looking for how we can serve others every day. When we see a chance to serve someone else, we should do it. Jesus saw the chance to serve His disciples when He washed their feet. So He did it. Sometimes serving can be hard; to serve someone, we have to do something that is not always fun, or seems beneath us. God wants us to serve those around us, especially when we think we should not have to do something because we are older or better than those around us. Jesus is the Son of God, but He chose to put Himself below His disciples and do the job that a servant or slave would normally do by washing their feet. God wants us to serve our brothers, sisters, parents, teachers, friends and even people we do not know. Let s continue reading the Bible to see what else Jesus said about washing their feet. John 13:8b-10 Jesus replied, Unless I wash you, you won t belong to me. 9 Simon Peter exclaimed, Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet! 10 Jesus replied, A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you. Jesus continued to talk to the disciples. He told them they needed Him to wash them. He did not mean just to clean their feet, but also to clean their heart. We need to admit that we are sinners, repent of our sin and ask for healing so that Christ can cleanse our hearts. Cleansed by Blood, Not by Water The purpose of this activity is to draw the parallels of Jesus washing their feet to washing their sins. Bowl (1 per bin) Jug/pitcher of water (1 per bin) Hand towel (1 per session) Explain to the campers that they are going to have the opportunity to wash one another s hands. Tell them you will begin, and each person will wash the hands of the person on his or her left. Just like Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, we just had the opportunity to serve one another by washing each others hands. How did it feel to wash one of your classmates hands? (Allow responses.) How did it feel to have your hands washed? (Allow responses.) Our hands were dirty before they were washed. When one of your classmates washed your hands, he or she cleaned the dirt off them and washed the grime away. Jesus washed the disciples feet to get them Revised: 12/16 4

5 clean, and also to show them that they need Him to clean their hearts as well. Sin can be thought of as dirt on our hearts. We need Jesus to wash away our sin and make our hearts clean. Just as water washes away dirt from our hands, Jesus blood cleans the sin from our hearts if we repent of our sin. We need to spend time with God daily and turn away from our sin so that He can clean our hearts. Let s continue to read the Bible to see what Jesus said about serving others. John 13: After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, because that s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. Jesus did not say to do what He did; He says to do as He did. We do not have to wash everyone s feet in order to serve them. Jesus wants us to serve others. We can choose to put others first, just as Jesus did for His disciples, in order to serve them. We are called to serve others, even when this means that we do things we do not like to do, or when we do things that we think are beneath us. Serving Others The purpose is for the campers to examine ways in which they can serve others. Scenarios and Examples of Serving Others Guide examples side (2 per bin) Ask for volunteers to act out how they could potentially serve others in each situation on the Examples of side of the guide. Every day, we have many opportunities to serve others by putting them first. God wants you to recognize different chances throughout each day that you can put someone above yourself. It may be letting someone go before you in line, holding a door for someone, sharing what you have with someone else. If you believe and trust in Jesus, you are a follower of Christ. You can be like Jesus by loving others through serving them. What are some other ways to serve others that you can think of? (Allow responses.) Servant Rally Towels others. The purpose of this activity is to provide a take home to remind the campers to serve Washcloth (1 per camper) Revised: 12/16 5

6 Verse card Matthew 20:28 (1 per camper) Spool of curling ribbon or twine (1 per bin) Markers/crayons Give a verse cutout to each camper and go over the verse with them a couple of times. Then ask them to turn the card over to the blank side and spend a few minutes thinking of ways they can serve the people in their lives (family, teachers, friends, classmates, etc). Have them draw a picture of one (or more) of the ideas on the back of the verse card. Punch a hole in the top corner of the card and then help campers use the ribbon/twine to tie the card around a rolled up cloth. God wants us to follow Christ s example and serve those around us. Jesus calls us to serve others. He gave us an example of how we can serve those around us by lowering ourselves and putting others above ourselves. People around us can see Jesus love in us when we serve them. Keep this picture of a towel with Matthew 20:28 and ideas of how you can serve people in your life as a reminder to serve others. Prayer Time Spend a few minutes in prayer to close small group time. Ask God to help you have a humble heart to serve others by putting them first instead of yourself. If you have any comments about this lesson or Big Group, please fill out a FEEDBACK CARD provided in your room and give it to your coach. Gracechurchkids.org 2801 Pelham Rd. Greenville SC Ph: Fx: Revised: 12/16 6